Water-heater.



I. W. RGBERTSHAW.

WATER HEATER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 27, 190B.

Patented Semi. 28, 1909.

mvEN'i'oH p gam a of Hie i v SHAW, 03f Pittsiimi FREDEPJGK I senses.

fsypliceiw To all whom i; may can CH2. Be ii known the; I, FREDERICK.

I Aiieg icny ecu n syivunia have mvenied a, ieW and useiiil \Mitei'dxieuter, of which he itcl 11 11W. A qnqn ill (1 Lin, .11m @AflLb hula/ii being lied to the ecccmpan 'iui'iiung part 0i this specific iszi view partly Figure l and partly in veri'icai section of one form of water heater embodying my invention Fig. is a cross-section Of he same 011 iii: line li -H cf Fig. l; and 3 is elevation partly brokezz a w y shcwing anotherembodiment cf my invention. Fig.

iis a de tziii View showing a mcdificaticn.

My inventici'i has relation ic menia- (ZZS c that class in which fluid fuel, such as re]: m1, 1S used; and is d n); a iiezifier of this which is ar- 11 a ii'iiniz'uui'n consumpii" i: 01

A fin-1 Vi le a he aci'imi 0 suci smnpticn cl fuel can be 1 upon to heat H iike volume of waier to n given temieratuie iii 'the 1251;111:101? iii-are Zia-ii} hereinu'enticii is applicable to h'ct'weter hem". ,rsfcr dciiiestic and mike pul'pusem and also '20 hot vatcr hee'iing systems, for all be U311 :m exit; that a veil cunof which purposes it is extremelyefficient and economical. i i

. Heeteis cmbmiying my invention are pmiided with a Water drama boiler, 01 reservciif, connected by citczilating pipes with mic or more burner chambers cciii icing hex-icing coils, 011 ciher heating Suffm 5 with in icii ihe 'WELEQZ .i heated bythc action imi'nei mi. which it pines 11;

4 iii.

chamber until they have peiieci with iii-ail 111.44 J1.

the water and to sinus.

:1- iherincstet placed in necticn t0 the beaker, nccticus t0 chamber or chmnbeis, e116 n by jusi siiflicient; ccmbnstion inziiiii at the callers to keep the WEJQK at {he sired temperature.

The Water drum or reservoir is provide i Wiih an outer surrounding shei or preferably of non-iiexit-comiuciiiug ictci, and forming iii-mind the m cm a hc 111; and heat-confining chamber having a Wnrciiy and inwardiy ccnvcrging cuter WEA and which is closed except 02 an 0;; openings at its lc wer pciiicn. chamber the hot 311' and gases from t ears conducted by means 0 fine iions; and by the form and er 'ange the chambers, their; hot are first pass upwardly theiein at ccpi of the drum in contact with iii? 0 i '1 7 face of the same until they YGLLCil the upper portion of the chamber, Where they :1 turned back .as thcy'zzre cooled, and thence pass dcwiiwerciiy aicng the inner m"? ii'w outer shell ani escape t0 the 21mins hen the lower opening or cpeniiws E11 manner the hotgases are remined ii:

stentiaily all their heat, which is 11 in heating the drum. I

The heating chamber, in w i031 the Z is supported, has no outlet ccimecticv the cnlyescape for the gases being at lower POiZiOD thrcugh the ope ing or came a" ings rci'ewed to; and herein one a most important features cf A I have found that when :1 not only is :1 large poi'iii'cn of The cczim heat carried off and lost, but the eifi." of the heater varies from time ie ti variations in the nature and action 01. fine. draft. such as always cccnr in fines 'ject to ahnosphei'ic conaiiiicns.

The precise nature of my iiiventicii be best understood by wife in the companying drawings, in which 1 shown two differentembcdimems he and which will new be described it bci i premised hcwever that various use may he made therein by those skilled in me are without dep Tting from he sp'. t and scope 0% my invention as penriexi ciaims.

r. 1 M deimec in we .19-

,ibwii which is the burner by the pipe 14:.

i within an outer jacket or she the drum (5, rest.

water heaters for domestic purposes, the numeral 2 designates a burner or heating chambhr having a burner 3 at its lower portion.

, The particular embodiment of my invenlion shown is designed to use gas as a fuel, but the invention is equally applicable for oil or other fluid fuels.

Placed within the chamber 2, which is preferably of sheet metal, are the heating coils 4;. or other heating surfaces, which are connected at their upper ends by a pipe 5 leading to the upper portion of a water drum or reservoir (5. The lower ends ofthe heating coils are connected by a pipe 7 with a cold water inletpipe 8 and with a return pipe 9 leading upwardly in the lower portion of the drum or reservoir (5. The burner chamber 2 is shown as supported upon the two longitudinal pipes and 9, which connect the side legs 10 of the supporting frame. These pipes are closed at their ends, and the pipe 8 is connected with a gas supply pipe 11. A connection from the pipe 8 supplies the pilot light of the burner 3. The pipes 8 and 9 are connected by a cross-pipe 12, in which is placed a control valve 13, whose position is regulated by a thermostat l4 placed in the return pipe 9. This valve and thermostat may be of any suitable charactor, such for instance, as that described and claimed in my Patent No. 864,263, of August 27th, 1907. The gas which passes through this thermostatically controlled valve enters the pipe 9 and is conveyed to supported 16, which consist-s of end plates 17 which may be cast integral with or securedto the supporting legs 10, and which have on their inner faces circular ribs lSwhich support the shell 16 or jacket proper. The end plates 17are also provided with the curved lugs 19 on their inner faces, upon which the end portions of Bolts 20 tie the drum to the end plates 1'2, these bolts assing througa the sleeves or spacers 21 winch are placed between the inner surfaces of the end plates and the concaved ends of the drum, and the bolts being secured by nut's22 at their outer ends. The outer shell or jacket lGis prefer; ably of ntin-heat-conducting character, br is provided with a nou-heat-conducting lining 2-33, of asbestos, or other suitable material. This shell or jacket has a longitudinal open- The drum 6 is eccent-rically 1 ing 24-. at its lower portion, through which extends a flue 25 for conducting the hot air and gases from the burner chamber Qinto the lower portion of the heating and, heat confining chamber formed by the {outer shell or jacket. g l

:26 designates a shallow trough, whijch extends longitudinally underneath the lowe" nortiun or drum 6 for the purpose of lcatching any condensation drip therefrom. This trough may be slightly inclined toward one end to facilitate its discharge.

2? designates the hot water off-take from the drum 6.

The operation is as follows :The water is heated in the usual manner in passing through the coils 4 and is delivered into the upper portion of the drum 6. So long as the elf-take pipe 27 is closed, there will be more or less constant" circulation from the drum through the return pipe to the heating coils and back to the drmn, thus maintaining the water in the drum at the desired temperature, the thermostatically controlled valve operating to maintain just sufficient combustion at the burners for this purpose. Thehot air and gases from the burner chamber rise through the fine 25 into the lower portion of the heating chamber, where they are diverted by the drip trough 26, and pass upwardly at opposite sides of the drum 6, tending to hug the surface of said drum as they pass upwardly. Owing to the eccentric position. of the drum. within the outer shell or jacket, the inner walls of the heating chamber converge inwardly toward the drum so that the gases are compressed in volume as their temperature is reduced and are forced inwardly into contact with the drum. As the two currents of gases meet at the upper por' tion of the chamber, they are turned backwardly, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1.,

and thus pass downwardly along the inner surface of the outer shell until they finally escape to the atmosphere at the lower longitutlinal opening.

if desired, the heating chamber might be divided at the top of the drum by a bathe wall or partition as shown at 6* in Fig. 4, although this is not found necessary in practice, since there will be an up and down circulation of the gases at each side of the drum in the manner described even with this battle wall or partition omitted. In this manner the gases are retained within the heating chamher until they have parted with substantiallv all their heat which has been utilized in n. lie taming the temperature of the water in the drum. The outer shell or jacket with its nonheat-condnctinglining also prevents loss of heat by radiation from the drum. in the ordinary heater with an exposed drum, there is a radiating surface of considerably larger area than the heating surface, and there is consequently a constant loss by radiation, which I prevent by the means described.

The arrangement of the thermostat in the return pipe 9 causes the gas inlet controlling valve to respond quickly to any changes in temperature of the water. I

' As hereir before stated, there is no outlet flue, provided for the heating chamber suri imndino; the drum, the only escape for the gases being into the atmosphere at the lower coils to a s .3

ing; the drum for a number opening or openings; and as a matter of fact, the provision of such a line would defeat largely the beneficial results of my invention, for the rezsons'befn'e described. By providing the room or compartment in which iihc healer is placed. with any ordinary ventilating means, she heater may operated without a perceptible odor or other inconvenience resulting from the escape of the to the atmosphere. The amount of gas which is consumed to mandarin the, water at the proper leniperniure when she hcateris notbeing; drawn upon, is very small, and the gases are cooled to such an extent before they escape from the heating chamber than their presence is in fact scarcely to be noted in the surrounding atmosphere. 7

in Fig. .3 l have shownv my invention applied a) a hob-Water heating system. The

'consrruclcion and arrangement oi. the drum.

foriliis purpose is in all respecss the same brown in Figs. 1 and 2, bill; a plurality of burner chambers 2 (3 in fihe present instance) are employed, each of which has a line leading upwardly inio the heating chamber surrounding the drum. Any desired lliliilb'dlf of these heaters may be employed according to the service required. 'lhe-horizontsl position of: the drum perifliiS of an 'zlinosi "unlimited increase of the heating co s or other heating surfaces. 1 preferably 21110 311 the hot water pipes leading fri i. the upper ends of the heating le pipe or header--28, from which a pi; 29 leads upvardly intothe boiler, thus avoiding the necessity for piercof separate pipes.

.Although each of the heaters may be pro- 1 vidcd with a separate return pipe, and with '40 f valve, 1 have shown a single return pipe 9 to which the lower ends mils are connected,

a separate ihcrimsl'atically controlled gas 7 of all the heating with a single thermostatic valve 12, which controls the admission of gas to all three burners. I

'gnates the hot water pipe of the heating system, and 31. the. return pipe. 32 is an air vent having a. removable cap which can be taken or? in filling the boiler in the first ins'rance.

The advantages of my invention will be apparenh'froni. what has been already said; since itprovides a heater which is extremely economics .in its consumption of fuel, and

which is uniform in its action. It will be noted that cold Water is iHii'KMl lCEd to the heater at the lowest point in the circulating 3 system, so that. a natural circulation of the water through the drum can readily take place.

Various changesniay be made in the deand heating coils tails of my invention; thus the drum and its ported in the manner outer shell or jacket, instead of being supshown, may obviously pended r'roin overhead, or supported the i'.

fluid fuel, a water reservoir in any other desired manner. conveniently use the gas distributingpipes as a means for supporting the burners shown and described, yet it is obvious that these may be supported in any other way and the gas distributed to the burners by any suitable arrangement of pipes. The water drum may be of various sizes and shapes and may be supportedgvithin the outer shell or jacket in any suitable manner.

What I claim is 1. .A water heater having a burner for having surfaces which diverge upwardly from its bottom, a closed circulating system. for the reservoir, including heating surfaces which are exposed to the action of the burnerf'and a casing or shell surrounding the reservoir and forming heating and heat-confining chambers at. opposite sides of the reservoir,- said chambers being wiihout outlet connections and closed except at the lower portion, and means for conducting the gases from the burner into the lower portion of said casing 01'. shell after they have passed over said heating surfaces, the casing or shell having a bottom opening through which the gases While I may escape after they have made an up and 2. A Water heater having burner for fluid fuel, a. Water reservoir having surfaces which diverge upwardly from its bottom, a closed circulating system for the reservoir connected thereto atdifierent levels at the hot and cold ends. of said system, said system including heating surfaces which are exposed to the action of the burner, and a casing or shell surrounding the reservoir and forming heating and heat-confining chambers at opposite sides of the reservoir, said chambers being without outlet conncc tions and closed except at the-dowel portion, and means for conducting the gases from the burner into the lower portion of said casing or shell after they have passed over said heating surfaces, the casing or shell having a bottom opening through which the gases escape after they have made an up and down pass in each of said chambers; substanlially as described.

3. A water heater ccomprising a bearer proper, a fluid fuel burner for said heater, a horizontally supported water drum above the heater and connected therewith by circulating pipes, a casing or shell surrounding said drum and iiorniing heating and heatconfining chan'ibers at opposite sides thereof, said chambers being closed except at the lower portion, and a line for ci'nuluc'ting the gases from the burner, after they have passed over the heater proper, into the lower poction of the casing or shell, the bottom of l drum actin to divert the gas upwai lly inro the said chambers whereby they make up and'down passes in each of said chambers, the'bottoin of the easing having an escape opening to permit of the escape of the gases after they have made such up and down passes; substantially as described.

-3l. A. water heater eoinprising a heater proper, a burner for heating the same, a 'ater reservoir supported above the heater proper and eonnerted thereto by circulating pipes, a casing or shell surrounding the water reservoir and forming heating and heat-confining ehauibers at opposite sides thereof, said chambers being of decreasing width toward the top and entirely closed. except. at the lower portion, and a line for conducting the gases from the burner, after they have passed over the heater proper, into the lower portion of the easingor shell,

the bottom of the drum acting to divert the gas upwardly into the said chambers whereby they make up and down passes in each of said chambers, the'l'mttoin of the casing having an escape opening to permit of the esrape of the gases after they have made such up and down passes; substantially as de- .srribed.

In a water heater, a heater proper, a burner for the same, a Water drum supported horizontally above the hi er, a casing or she-ll surrounding said drain; and forming healing and. heatwonliniug chambers at the opposite sides of said drum, the lateral walls of the easing or shell eonverging inwardly toward the upper portion of the drum and thereby decreasing the area of 'theupper portions of the ehiunbers, said chambers being elosed exrept at their lower portions, and means for eonveying the waste. gases from the heater proper into the lower portion'oi' the shell or alsing andeausing them to make up and down passes in said chambers and then esrape at the lower portion of the shell or easing; substimtially as described.

o. A water heater comprising a plurality of heating coils, an int-losingcasing therefor, burner means for supplying heat to said rolls, a 'ater reservoir above the coils and ronneeted by circulating pipes to opposite ends of the coils, a shell surrounding the reservoi and forming heating and heat-eontiniug eluunbers at opposite sides thereof, said (-hanibers being rlosed at the top and open at their lower portions, and a line leading from the easiiig oi the treating (toils into semeschambers at opposite sides of the reservoir,

said chambers being Without outlet oonnee' tions and closed except at the lower portion,

from

and means for conducting the gases the burner into the lower portion of said casing or shell after they said heating surfaces, the eas mg or shell having a bottom opening thro which the gaseseseape after they h e nulde wrap and down pass in eaol'i of said i W return eireulatina connection from the reservoir to the heater proper hi. J 9; means controlled by the 'ate-r therein ttoroontrolling theamou'nt of fuel supplied to the burner; substantially as deseriloed.

8.111 a water heater, a suppqrting' frarne having legs which carry end plates at their upper portions, a horizontal water drum si'ippo'rted by said end plates, a surrounding shellor jacket for the drum also supported by the end plates and forming around the drum a heating and heat-conliningg chamber which is elosed except at its lower portion, circulating pipes for heating (*oil, a burner for heating the coil gas distributing pipes .t'or the burnert'orming a support for the burner, and also braces tor the frame, and means for conducting the hot gases. from the burner inta the lower portion of the heating and heat-confining chamber and down passes m-such chamber at opptr site sides of the drum; substantially asde-.

scribed.

In testimony whereof, i. have hereunto set my hand.

tltlllllrlltltlli W; ROBERTSHAW.

Witnesses;

Geo. ll. Pentium,

M. lineup.

eiuntuheirs, and

said drum-including a.

and for eai'isingthem to make up have passed over 

